Deadly Storms
 Alexander Hamilton and The Hurricane of August 31, 1772
Introduction
Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury of the United
States, aide-de-camp to General George Washington during the
Revolutionary War, and recipient of a fatal bullet in a duel with Aaron
Burr, was fifteen years old and living in the town of Christiansted, St.
Croix, when the great hurricane of August 31, 1772, struck the island of
St. Croix. From Hamilton's description, the eye of this storm passed
directly over Christiansted. The following is excerpted from a letter
written by Hamilton to his father on September 6, 1772.
By Alexander Hamilton...
Honored Sir,
I
take up my pen, just to give you an imperfect account of one of the most
dreadful hurricanes that memory or any records whatever can trace, which
happened here on the 31st ultimo at night. It began about dusk, at
north, and raged very violently till ten o'clock. Then ensued a sudden
and unexpected interval which lasted about an hour. Meanwhile the wind
was shifting round to the south west point , from whence it returned
with redoubled fury and continued till nearly three in the morning. Good
God! what horror and destruction - it's impossible for me to describe -
or you to form any idea of it. It seemed as if a total dissolution of
nature was taking place. The roaring of the sea and wind - fiery meteors
flying about in the air - the prodigious glare of almost perpetual
lightning - the crash of falling houses - and the ear-piercing shrieks
of the distressed were sufficient to strike astonishment into Angels. A
great part of the buildings throughout the island are leveled to the
ground - almost all the rest very much shattered - several persons
killed and numbers utterly ruined - whole families wandering about the
streets, unknowing where to find a place of shelter - the sick exposed
to the keenness of water and air - without a bed to lie upon - or a dry
covering to their bodies - and our harbors entirely bare. In a word,
misery, in its most hideous shapes, spread over the whole face of the
country ....
Extracted From: "The Virgin Islands Our New Possessions and the British
Virgin Islands" by Theodoor De Booy and John T. Faris, Philadelphia, J.
B. Lippincott Company, 1918. Pp. 205-206. Library Call Number C/hc100v81
B.
About The Storm:
August 31st-September 4th, 1772:
Hurricane originating near
Jamaica on the 28th of August moved north and northwest into the Central Gulf
Coast just west of Mobile. Its effects were far reaching. In Pensacola, it
destroyed most of the wharves. The most devastation occurred in the vicinity of
Mobile and the Pasca Oocola River. All shipping at the Mouth of the Mississippi
was driven into the marshes. this included the ship El Principe de Orange from
which only 6 survived.
Being on the west side of this storm, the worst
inundation occurred at the back of the Chandeleurs, Grand Gozier, and
Breton Isles and cut new channels within the islands. New Orleans itself
enjoyed a sunny day with light winds.
A hurricane 'which happened on the 31st of August , 1772, was
particularly destructive to them [Windward Islands]; this dreadful
tempest, which seems not to have gone further South than 15 degrees
N. lat. fell on all the Caribbee islands, in their turn, from that
degree of latitude, and passing along by Porto Rico, Hispaniola, and
the South side of Cuba, swept across the mouth of the Gulph of
Mexico, quite into the Bay of Honduras, in a course of near 700
leagues, or upwards; for its place of origination is unknown.
Jamaica, being fortunately screened by the islands of Hispaniola
and Cuba, which intercepted the main stream of wind, escaped without
any material damage; the inhabitants thought the weather a little
tempestuous, but were not alarmed at it; the wind was chiefly felt
on the North side of the island; but, in most other parts, they had
deluges of rain, which flooded the rivers to an incredible height,
tore up several bridges, and drowned a good many cattle, sheep, and
some Negroes.
A gentleman, who was at this time passenger in a small vessel bound
through the Gulph of Florida, for North America, gave the following
account.
They had just left the West end of the island, on the 31st of
August, but could then perceive no appearance of approaching bad
weather. The wind indeed got round to the Westward, and continued in
that quarter, blowing moderately, for three days. They supposed
themselves off the Cuba shore, in the afternoon of September the 3d,
and were then quite becalmed. On a sudden the wind came on violently
from the North, and blew very hard till midnight. About half an hour
afterwards it ceased at once, and a perfect calm ensued, which
lasted only a few minutes; when a contrary wind as suddenly began
from the South; and, by its opposition to the range of the waves,
raised a most terrible sea. At one o’clock this wind increased to a
tremendous height, and continued, without the smallest abatement of
its fury, till, two: from this time it abated but very little till
noon, when it hauled round to the Eastward, and there settled into a
moderate gale, which brought them clear weather again. The progress
of this storm from the Northward, round by the West and South, to
the usual quarter of the trade-wind, agrees with, and corroborates
what has been before-mentioned in general, allowing for some small
variations which may happen in places differently situated.
Extracted from The History of Jamaica, Edward Long, 1774, Vol III p 620-1
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